Carnival of Lost Souls
by DragonProtector09
Summary: When their elderly grandmother dies, Jamie and Sophie Bennett are left with the task to uncover an old family mystery. Their only clue? A letter written to them before their grandmother passed instructing them to go to the old circus grounds during the night. What is this mystery their grandmother hinted at when she was alive? What will the siblings discover?
1. Prologue: The Will and The Quest

**Hello, author here. I have a little request for this tale; throughout this story, I will leave this _(Play) _above a paragraph or above a chapter. This is an instruction to open a tab on Youtube and search for the music that goes with and inspired this story. The title of the story matches the album to look for and the name of the chapter matches the track to listen to. The music is, hopefully, going to add to the atmosphere of the story as well as spark off your imagination and give you a good idea of what is happening. Please read and give some constructive criticism and I hope you enjoy. **

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Prologue – The Will and The Quest

The Bennett family were gathered in their living room, listening to a suited (and boring) solicitor as he read the Last Will and Testament of Lenora Bennett. The youngest members of the family, Jamie and Sophie, were more focused on the fact that their beloved grandmother had passed. No more stories of magic and fantasy and no more hushed whispers of haunted mansions and a family curse. According to their slightly batty grandmother, the family were descended from one of the founding families of their home town Burgess. The Overlands had been among the first to move here and some of their traits could still be seen in the Bennetts; mostly brunette hair and a mischievous attitude. This curse apparently began with the Overlands and still continued today with the Bennetts; a curse to bring nothing but misfortune and woe upon the Overlands and their descendants. The stories frightened and thrilled the two children but they didn't really believe them... until the solicitor mentioned their names and a male brunette head and a female blonde head both jerked up, fixing brown and green eyes on the suited man.  
"To my darling grandchildren, James and Sophia Bennett-" The siblings cringed slightly as their full names were used in the boring man's monotonous voice. Only their grandmother had used them. And their mother but only when she was mad. "I leave the stories I told, a letter which shall be given to them by my solicitor and the deed to the Overland mansion on the outskirts of Burgess." This put the entire family in shock. Jamie was only twelve while Sophie had just turned seven. They were far too young to own a house, especially a mansion!  
"Did she really write that?" Jamie asked and approached to see for himself. The solicitor was proved right as Jamie read his grandmother's words for himself. "Looks like we have a house, Sophie." He told his younger sister with a slightly shakey voice. "And it happens to be the only haunted house in Burgess."

They could discuss the myths and rumours of the ancient mansion on the outskirts of town all they liked later. For now, Jamie wanted the letter his grandmother had written to him and his sister. He held out his hand, waiting for it. He got an unimpressed look from his parents and the solicitor but the letter was placed in his slightly pudgy hand anyway. Jamie then grabbed his sister's hand and they both tore upstairs, plonked themselves on Jamie's bed and opened the letter.  
"_To my darling grandchildren._" Jamie read aloud. "_If you are reading this, it means I am no longer here and it is your turn to carry on my life's work. Your mother never understood, never listened to my stories. She did not try to discover the cause of the family curse nor find out why our ancestors disappeared. And if our ancestors did disappear, how do we exist? We are descended from them, Overland blood is within us. This is a hard task for two children but your mother never had the drive and I am no longer here. It is your turn now. I need you to start at the old circus ground. Travel there the night you get this letter and explore. What you will find... I do not know, I could never gain entrance. It seems to repel adults but children manage to get in all the time. I will understand if you choose not to do this. You can grow up and tell the same stories to your own children and grandchildren and, perhaps, they will find the answers. If you do choose to take up my task, then good luck to you both. I love you, Grandma Lenora._" The last words were read with a choked up voice and Sophie's eyes were brimming with tears and fear.  
"Grandma wants us to go to the old circus ground?" She asked in a trembling voice. "But everyone knows it's haunted! What are we going to do Jamie?"  
Jamie sat still, rereading the letter again and again as his mind listed the pros and cons of following their Grandmother's instructions. He finally looked up at his sister and made his decision.


	2. Ghosts of the Midway

_**Play - Carnival of Lost Souls (Album), Ghosts of the Midway (Track)**_

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Chapter 1 – Ghosts of the Midway

The night air was still and pleasant as a gentle breeze wrapped around two small figures on the edge of the supposedly haunted areas on the outskirts of town. The Bennett siblings were stood outside of the locked gates of the old circus ground. Unexplained disappearances of children littered the history of the grounds dating back to the first time they turned up in Burgess over four hundred years ago. Despite the grounds not being used in three hundred years, children still disappeared. Their grandmother had a friend who got up in the middle of the night after breaking into the grounds on a dare. According to the tale, this friend seemed to be in a trance and even Lenora had been for a short time. Grandma Bennett had been able to break free and run but her best friend had somehow gotten in and was never seen again. Jamie and Sophie remembered how the chilling tale had ended with their grandmother saying that she swore she saw dark fuzzy shapes as the circus lights, which shouldn't have been on at the time as they weren't wired for electricity, dimmed and blacked out, taking her best friend with them.

Jamie pushed the story out of his mind and focused on the task at hand. Though the metal of the bars were rusty, they stood strong and the gaps between them were too small for an adult to fit through. He experimentally wiggled the bars and proved his theory was correct; the bars weren't budging. He kept going, testing the bars on the gate, trying to find one that was loose enough for him and Sophie to slip inside quietly. Speaking of his seven year old sister, he was rather confused by her behaviour. She was stood there, staring into the grounds almost blankly. Just stood there, still and silent. He would have passed it off as daydreaming apart from the fact that Sophie wasn't blinking. She always blinked when she daydreamed. Abandoning his experiments on the bars of the gate for now, Jamie wandered over to his sister and put a hand on her shoulder to try and get her attention. Nothing... he waved his hand in front of her face, called her name, shook her shoulders and she still didn't respond.

Sophie couldn't respond. The man in the centre of the grounds held her attention. She couldn't quite make him out, he was a little fuzzy but she could make out that he was tall and wearing the grand red coat of a ringmaster. His deep voice boomed to her, entrancing her further.  
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the circus of the strange!" He called to them in welcome, his voice echoing through the darkness and carrying to her despite the music of the circus playing throughout the grounds and the cheers of children that ran through. Sophie could hear the children but she couldn't see them. All she saw was the locked gate and the fuzzy ringmaster speaking to her. "The side show of the sinister and the theatre of the bizzare. Enter a world of dark wonders to indulge your wickedst dreams." The man swept his hand back as though he were introducing the circus to Sophie and she stepped forward a little to try and gain entry. Or, if you dare, explore the shadows of your most diabolical nightmares." His other hand swept in the other direction, showing a shadowy tent. Any sounds that may have been coming from it were drowned out the ringmaster's voice and the circus music. "Cast your eyes upon cruel the oddities of nature and behold monstrous creatures from the depths of the abyss. Marvel with awe and dismay at unbelievable death-defying acts that teeter on the very brink of doom." She stepped forward a few more paces, stretching her hand out. She was suddenly consumed with the desire to get into the circus. She had to see, she had to experience, she had to get in. She didn't see the smirk of the ringmaster. "Leave the mundane world behind, for those who visit this festival of phantasms are never the same again..." A stream of thin wispy light left the ringmaster's palm and Sophie's blank eyes followed it to a sizeable gap in the bars that was hidden by ivy and various other weeds. "Step this way... there is no turning back!" The ringmaster disappeared and suddenly, Sophie was rapidly blinking, wondering what had happened.

"Are you alright?" She heard Jamie ask and she nodded. "I'm fine. Maybe I'm a little tired." Jamie nodded in agreement but didn't seem convinced. "Have we tried over here?" She asked and wandered over to the spot that had been shown to her moments ago. When Jamie tested the bars, he found they were loose and could move enough for both of them to squeeze through.  
"How did you know?" Jamie asked, confused. Neither of them had even considered that the gate wasn't the only way in. To his surprise, Sophie just shook her head and shrugged.  
"I don't know. It just... came to me, I guess."  
Well, however it had been done, Jamie put it out of his mind for now and squeezed through the bars before holding his hand out. "Step this way, Sophie." He encouraged. She unconsciously shuddered a little as her subconscious mind remembered the strange ringmaster's words.  
"There's no turning back." She mumbled to herself and allowed her brother to pull her through the gap in the barred fence.


	3. After Hours

_**Play - Carnival of Lost Souls (Album), After Hours (Track)**_

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Chapter 2 – After Hours

The siblings slipped through the bars in the fence and wandered around until they could just about make out the gate. From there, they could at least have a rough point of reference. To be on the safe side, they kept a tight hold on each other by keeping their hands clasped tight. Neither sibling knew what may or may not be ahead of them in the darkness so they moved slowly, stretching out their feet as far as they could and nimbly tapping around for holes and small rises or dips in the land. Despite stumbling blindly through the dead grass in the pitch black night, Jamie and Sophie were confident that they remained in a straight line. At least... they were until they decided to turn round to see if they were still in line with the gate... but it had gone. They knew they couldn't have travelled that far from it as they had been moving so slowly. So where was the gate?

"Jamie... I don't like this." Sophie whimpered fearfully. She refused to move her feet until they were sure they were somewhat safe.

"Neither do I, Sophie." Jamie mumbled back. "Neither do I."

Now they really had a problem. They couldn't be sure if they were going in a straight line with the gate directly behind them if there was no gate there. They also had no way to check that they wouldn't start walking diagonally since there was no light in this place. However, Jamie felt that the only way they would find an exit was if they wandered so he gently tugged his frightened sister's hand and they wandered further into the darkness. Sophie clung to her brother's arm, tighter than before, not wanting to lose him and be on her own. She swore there were hushed whispers in the air but she couldn't make them out.

"Follow me." Sophie jumped as one voice suddenly made itself known and she let out a small yelp.

"What is it?" Jamie asked, panicking.

"A voice! I-I heard a voice!" She replied, shaking worse than ever. "B-but it's the only option we have so... I-I think we should follow it."

"Are you sure?" But Jamie's question was answered as he was gently pulled along behind his frightened sister.

The voice was fairly easy to follow as their was a faint light on the ground almost as though the damp grass were reflecting something. Sophie became more paranoid as she swore the voices picked up in volume but she stayed as focused as she could on the one voice that was leading them further into the circus ground. Towards an exit, towards something more sinister? Sophie couldn't say; all she knew was that this voice had spoken loud enough for her to hear. The fact that she was hearing voices at all worried her. But what choice did she and her big brother have? They were blind here and their only guide was a voice that only she could hear. Perhaps the place had made her instantly go insane though, being seven years old, Sophie still strongly believed in fairies and all things magical so, perhaps, this place was magic. She certainly preferred that theory to considering herself insane. It was at this point that Sophie stopped, causing her brother to crash into her and knock her over. The slight sting of cold hands hitting wet grass was no bother but the sudden, air thickening silence made her shiver. No more voices. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not as it was the voices that had guided her this far into darkness and swirling ankle high fog; without them, Sophie knew that her and her brother were truly blind to this dark world of the old circus ground. Once again, out of the blue, voices appeared in Sophie's hearing once more and she jumped. She knew that she heard the sweet giggle echoing through the fog and the surrounding black nothingness. Sophie made a few hurried and blundering steps towards it.  
"Sophie!" Jamie said, raising his voice a little to catch the seven year old's attention. "Slow down! I can't see what my feet are doing."

But Sophie didn't stop. She kept moving in the direction of the laughter when she heard a third sound somewhere to her left.

"This way." The voice whispered and she felt the slightest breeze brush past her face in the same comforting manner a mother's would. It then brushed by her free hand and seemed to try to lead her somewhere. Sophie wasn't about to turn down what could be the only chance of getting out of the circus ground so she took it and followed the voice further into the darkness. She started to make out fuzzy shapes. Tents. Circus tents. They'd finally arrived at the circus itself.


	4. Harlequin's Lament

**Ok, I need to reply to an anonymous review before I do anything else. Weapon, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far :) However, the Guardians won't be appearing in this story and I wish I could give you a reason for that is but I simply don't have one. When I imagined this story, I only ever saw Jamie and Sophie. There were plenty of opportunities in the planning and in the mental images for the Guardians to come to the rescue but they didn't show up. Maybe the film never happened, maybe all that stuff happened to another set of siblings, I simply don't know. Only Jamie and Sophie will be in this fic, the Guardians are unlikely to even be mentioned. Sorry about that.**

**Disclaimer: I can't believe I forgot to do this! Rise of the Guardians/Guardians of Childhood belong to William Joyce. The music used to inspire this fic belong to the brilliant minds of Joseph Vargo and William Petriowski. I own none of the prementioned items, not am I using them in any kind of profit. They are simply inspirations for the fanfiction that I am currently writing.**

_**Play - Carnival of Lost Souls (Album), Harlequin's Lament (Track)**_

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Chapter 3 – Harlequin's Lament

There was only one source of light in the surrounding area and that was the soft light emanating from the small tent just in front of Jamie and Sophie. Sound also came from the open tent flap so that was clearly the way to go. They shared a look then shrugged. If it was the only source of light and sound then it was probably better they went there; humans were rather like moths in that sense. The tent was far too small to be the big top but was clearly set out for an audience as there were benches that could fit three or four people at a time arranged into neat rows and all facing the grand piano at the very front. Jamie grinned and ran straight to the front to listen.

"Look, Sophie, it's playing itself! Isn't that clever?" He asked with a grin before turning back to the piano to listen.

His blond sister was a little hesitant and didn't believe her brother's words. She sat a few rows behind him and tried not to lock gazes with the man sitting at the piano, playing the saddening tune. He was frightening to look at; a white mask decorated with a villainous grin and dark colours with a bright green jester's jumpsuit. Sophie didn't like this one bit. She swore the piano player _knew _she could see him and her brother couldn't.

The white mask turned to Sophie, grin seeming to get wider as he continued to play. The empty black eye holes of the mask held the child's emerald green gaze and the music began to put images in her head. Images of every time someone had made her cry or she had fallen over when she was a toddler. Unnerving but harmless. But as the repetitive chords continued and other patterns began to worm their way into her brain, she saw more. She saw images of gravestones all with the same surname; Overland. What was even more frightening was that some had changed to Bennett. The first image she saw was the skiing accident that had taken her father. She saw it all; the sudden crack in the skis, the snow that shouldn't have been so unstable on such a perfect day for a ski lesson... the blood pouring from the crack in her father's skull. Then that image was wiped away and replaced with an image of another young man. He was clearly older than her brother by several years and looked vaguely familiar... she had probably seen him in a photo album. Grandma Lenora had shown them a lot of albums. This young man seemed to come from another time and was sitting by a pond in a garden. She saw how he slipped on a wet patch of grass as he stood... yet everywhere else, the grass was bone dry. She saw how he fell into the pond and scrambled and yelled to try and get out. But that wasn't all; she saw many more members of the family and their descendants met seemingly accidental deaths yet all the small details the girl was seeing through the music told her otherwise.

The worst was yet to come. Darker chords and a deeper chorus had started to be played with the main tune of the harlequin's piano. This time, she saw two more headstones with her's and Jamie's names on them. And then, the image changed. She saw how she and Jamie were in some kind of dark hall. There was a thin ring of light surrounding them but the shadows seemed to move and struck through that light easily. She felt how these shadows pierced her chest and shattered her very heart. She clutched at her chest as she lost her breath and felt a strange kind of emptiness like the thing that made her who she was had been sucked out. Her soul... that was what Grandma Lenora had called it. She heard the slow chime of a church bell as two small coffins were lowered into the ground as her mother cried over them. Sophie instantly knew that these were her's and Jamie's; she was seeing her own funeral. Tears of fear and pure sadness poured down her face. She thought the images would fade but they only got stronger and clearer as the chords did the same.

The next she knew, the harlequin was in her face; still grinning maniacally. He held out a gloved hand as the other swept towards the curtain behind his piano. Still seeing the images, she grasped his hand without thinking and she was lead to the stage then round the piano. The tune was still playing despite him not sitting there and the chords came to a haunting close as she stood in front of the doorway that had been hidden behind the dark red curtain. "Jamie!" She called and her brother walked over.  
"How did you find that?" He asked. That was twice she had done that now and Jamie didn't like it. The circus grounds were probably doing something to his baby sister.

"L-lets just get out of here." She said. The frightening images had faded with the music. Sophie grabbed her brother's hand and pulled him through the doorway.


	5. Calliope

_**Play - Carnival of Lost Souls(Album), Calliope (Track)**_

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Chapter 4 – Calliope

Jamie and Sophie stepped outside the dimly lit tent and had to furiously blink at the sudden brightness. Once their vision cleared, they saw that the entire circus was lit up. Small booth games were playing themselves, the rides were spinning and emitting all sorts of sounds. Grins lit the children's faces as they ran around exploring. This was what a circus ground should look like; full of life and innocence. They forgot that this place wasn't all that it appeared to be. It was common knowledge that this circus had been locked on this ground since the mid 19th Century and hadn't been approached since. It shouldn't have been wired for electricity since people refused to go near it. They forgot their Grandmother's stories of children who had been entranced by the music that was currently playing and had been lost forever within the grounds. Jamie forgot that the gate had disappeared as he and his sister had wandered in the darkness. Sophie forgot the images the harlequin's melody had put into her head. They forgot their quest from their beloved Grandmother. All they knew right now was that they were in a wonderful circus ground and they had it all to themselves.

Sophie ran to one of the booth games and spent a while trying to hook the ducks, giggling every time she missed or was close to getting one but it got away. She would also turn round to see her brother on the swing ride. He whooped and cheered as he sat strapped into the swing and the entire set spun, lifting him higher and higher. They enjoyed themselves; the fear, sorrow and uncertainty of their grandmother's death and the task she had left them with melted away and they smiled real smiles for the first time in days. All around them, the circus rides helped to boost their morale and keep up the illusion of an innocent circus. Rides span, lights flashed and children laughed. One wandered over to the hook the duck booth that Sophie was at.

"Oh, sorry. Did you want a go?" She asked the child with a small giggle. She was having so much fun! That attitude faded a little as the child giggled in return. They were very small and thin with a sunken face and empty eyes. Despite the giggles the child was emitting, there was no true joy or happiness in those eyes. They were empty, souless. Sophie stepped back in fright as she took in this child's appearance. Everything confused her; the expression, the giggles, the clothes. The child looked like they had stepped out of a book about the 60s.

She ran over to the swing ride and got an even bigger fright. Jamie had been on the ride alone but was now joined by several children of varying ages. Girls, boys, all giggling and all with the same souless gaze that she had already seen at the booth. They all seemed to come from different eras of time. She saw the simple clothes of the colonial era, flared trousers she had seen her mother wear in childhood pictures, she saw everything. The circuses' illusion broke on Sophie; she could see the ghostly children, hear the laughter and it was a deceptively pleasant sound. They looked like they were having fun but she could see through them. Literally. These children were nothing but ghosts and Jamie was sharing a ride with a whole bunch of them.

"Jamie!" She called. "Get down! We have things to do!" She had to be the responsible one. For some reason, despite proving she was susceptible to the charm of the circus, she had been the first to break the illusion.

"Aw, but Sophie, I'm having too much fun!" He called back, still laughing.

Sophie didn't like this. She had to get his attention somehow...Get him to think about something other than the circus...

"I'll tell Pippa about your crush on her!" She yelled as convincingly as he could and almost laughed as she watched Jamie almost jerk upright like he'd just had a dream.

"W-what crush?!" He denied just as the ride started to slow to let him off. Once his feet touched the ground, he stormed over to his sister. "I don't have a crush on my best friend!" He then glanced around and also saw through the illusion though he couldn't see the ghostly children like his sister.

"Maybe we should find out if that's true~" She teased. She had to keep his mind off of the rides. Just for now. Hopefully it would stop him form ending up like those other children. "How about..." She looked around and her face lit up at the perfect stall. "There's a fortune telling stall over there! Let's go see what the fortune teller says about your future with Pippa!"


	6. Madame Endora

**Weapon, thank you for understanding me :) **

**To others, apologies for how late this is. Some of it was down to laziness and some was because I had to revise for exams. I have no more exams until June so I'll try to keep updating as much as I can :) Please enjoy this chapter.**

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Chapter 5 – Madame Endora

Sophie pulled her brother over to the small tent with a banner reading 'Madame Endora – Reader of Futures.' Beneath the banner, an old figure was sat with a blank expression and staring into space. The figure wore the sparkly clothes of a stereotypical gypsy. The colours suited her, the style did not which lead Jamie to think that, perhaps, this figure wasn't truly a gypsy. The figure lifted their head to reveal brown that twinkled ever so slightly with mischief and a face weathered by age. Wispy grey hair escaped the head scarf the old woman wore over her head. Not quite expecting this, Jamie and Sophie simply stopped and stared, unsure of what to do next. While shuffling her feet, Sophie spotted a few coins on the ground. Circus attractions had to paid for else the people would get no earnings so she picked it up and looked up to her brother.  
"Do you think we should?" She hesitantly asked him.  
"What else can we do?" Jamie replied. "We don't know where the gate is." _**(Play: Carnival of Lost Souls, Madame Endora)**_  
He had a point so Sophie walked up to the fortune telling woman and handed her the coins.

"Step closer." She said in a voice that rasped from years of misuse. "Allow me to reveal the path of your destiny."

Tarot cards with beautiful yet gruesome designs were laid out in front of the woman. The first is turned over; a picture of a skeleton draped over a zodiac wheel. This card was The World. "The hand of fate has cast a shadow over your life." Two more cards are turned over. A black mass with eyes of pure evil stared at the siblings and a tall tower with living bodies falling from it as it is struck by lightening; Death and The Tower. "Your horizons are bleak and darkness fills the path ahead."

Madame Endora lifted her head once more to lock gazes with the Bennett siblings. "A storm is coming... Beware..." With her warning finished, she reached into her shawl with a wrinkled hand before placing an object in Jamie's hand. It was a small silver key. Jamie put it on his key chain so he wouldn't lose it

The curtain closed and the siblings took that as a sign to leave so they did.  
"I didn't like that." Jamie mumbled. "I didn't like that at all. She seemed to know something we don't."

Sophie just nodded, her face displaying the uncertainty her brother felt. "She was very scary. I thought fortune tellers were dramatic people? Not intimidating!"

They had no time to dwell on the ominous fortune nor on the elderly fortune teller as drums began to sound.


	7. Nightmare Parade

**Many apologies for taking so long. There was exams for school but I've left now so that should no longer be an issue. There was also writer's block and pure laziness as well as the fact that this chapter just didn't want to be written. Again, my apologies for taking so long with an update.**

**In case any one has forgotten, I do not own Jamie and Sophie; they belong to William Joyce and Dreamworks who own Guardians of Childhood/Rise of the Guardians respectively. I also do not own any of the music that inspired this fic and each chapter. The ideas and music itself belongs to Joseph Vargo.**

_**Play - Nightmare Parade (Track), Carnival of Lost Souls (Album)**_

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Chapter 6 – Nightmare Parade

_Badada da da badada da da Badada da da badada da da Badada da da badada da da Badada da da badada da da _went the drums across the way from the fortune teller's tent. Morbid curiosity drew Jamie Sophie towards the sound though, with everything that had happen so far, they were very cautious as they moved. They saw dim moving lights a few meters in front of them; that was where the drums were coming from so off they went, through the darkness of the circus. Even Sophie's bright blond hair gave very little light here. Both siblings felt branches brush against their clothes and they wandered through the enveloping darkness and small bushes and brambles caught at their trousers and socks. Jamie was smart and kept his free hand held up in front of him so they didn't walk into any trees. As they wandered and followed the sounds of drums and marching footsteps, Sophie was starting to think that the rumours of the circus grounds being haunted were true. Especially as she could hear the frightened choir of spirits that continued to follow and bother her. She also noticed how many of them fled away from the direction she and her brother were headed. The pounding rhythm of the drums lead Jamie and Sophie to a clearing. All they saw was empty space but they could hear the drums somewhere to their left. It sounded like... a parade. Perhaps the parade hadn't reached their position yet? They could hear more instruments; stringed ones and even a bell or maybe it was a xylophone? With no sight, the children's other senses,mainly their hearing, had started to get stronger and more sensitive. Everything a parade would need to announce their presence even in this nightmarish one in the middle of the circus grounds.

Sophie jumped as she heard more screams from the dead and some flew past with looks of pure terror on their transparent faces. But not all were fleeing as some of the spirits were lingering in the parade with blank looks on their transparent faces. Unless Sophie was mistaken, these spirits were parents. Knowledge sprung to Sophie's young mind; these parents had come looking for their children but the parade music held them in a trance in their deaths to keep them from everfinding their children. But Sophie didn't know how they died. She didn't know where this knowledge or this sight was coming from. The crack of a whip snapped Sophie out of her thoughts. Out of the darkness came beasts and creatures that belonged in legends and storybooks. Leathery wings, furry bodies, scaly faces, the variety was endless as they were all paraded through the grounds. Some were in chains and these were the ones being whipped. But not all received this treatment; other beasts and creatures were quite happily juggling or dancing as they paraded by. This didn't stop the sounds of frightened spirits and their fear was beginning to effect Sophie. She gripped Jamie's hand tightly and, for the first time that night, he thought he saw whatever was frightening his sister. He saw the outlines of tails and wings and maybe even beastly heads but he couldn't be sure.

The Ringmaster came into view, frightening poor Sophie as she recognised him. She tried to hide behind her brother though it didn't do much as the Ringmaster completely ignored her apart from a slight smirk when both siblings jumped as one of the beasts came a little too close to them and growled. The parade continued despite the reactions of the siblings and the spirits and with them, they took the soft light that had so far lit the area. And they left the siblings in darkness.


	8. Shadows Fall

_**Play - Shadows Fall (Track), Carnival of Lost Souls (Album)**_

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Chapter 7 – Shadows fall

The clearing the siblings were in fell darker and darker as the parade ventured further away from them. They couldn't get stuck here in the pitch black darkness so they followed at a distance until they were back at the main circus grounds. But all the rides were closing their ticket booths and turning off their lights. As each ride was turning off its light, Jamie and Sophie were left in an increasingly intimidating darkness. It got to the point where they couldn't see more than a foot or two in front of them and jumped every time the door of a ticket booth slammed shut. Oh if only they had grabbed their torches before leaving home! Maybe they would have been able to see where to go.  
"Any hints from your guides?" Jamie whispered to his sister. It was hard to make out her outline despite the fact she was right next to him. Not even her bright blond hair cold give out enough of a glow in the darkness and usually it did.  
"They're not here." Sophie fearfully whispered back. "The parade scared them off."  
"Then bring them back."

"I don't control them!" She snapped. "I didn't even know I could see them til we got here!" She then took several deep breaths. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to get mad... I'm scared, Jamie. This place looks like the circus ground but I don't think it's this big." She lowered her head and whimpered a little and Jamie wrapped his arms around her.  
"It's okay, Soph, I'll keep you safe, I promise." He said softly to calm her down and reassure her.  
"How? We can't see a thing and we don't even know where we are."

She was right. Though they followed the parade back to, what they thought was the circus ground, there were no lights on the now silent rides. Even the floating lights of the parade had disappeared into thin air. There was nothing to show them the way or even where they were. Jamie could see his sister's point; how could he protect her when he couldn't see anything? But he was aware that his hearing seemed to have gotten better. His ears picked up the rustle of leaves and grass and the slight squeak of Sophie's trainers as they walked through the dewy grounds. He thought he heard a whisper in the wind but he put that down to his imagination. For several minutes, the siblings stood in complete darkness, hardly daring to move or even breathe when Jamie almost cheered as he spotted salvation.  
"Sophie, look!" He cried and pointed straight ahead where, mercifully, the tiniest pinprick of light floated in the encompassing darkness. "We should head there!"  
Sophie wasn't pleased as Jamie thought she would be, instead, she shrank away from it. "I don't like this." She whispered. "It's like the circus wants us to go there."  
"It's not alive, Sophie."  
"Then why have we ended up seeing something terrifying or getting lost every time we head to light that appears from no where?!" She snapped back. "The circus is making this happen, I know it."  
"How?"  
"...I don't know... I can just tell..."  
Jamie was silent for a few moments before he softly spoke his thoughts. "What choice do we have?" He asked and grasped Sophie's hand to lead the way.


	9. Hall of Mirrors

_**Play Shadows Fall (Track), Carnival of Lost Souls (Album)**_

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Chapter 7 – Shadows fall

The clearing the siblings were in fell darker and darker as the parade ventured further away from them. They couldn't get stuck here in the pitch black darkness so they followed at a distance until they were back at the main circus grounds. But all the rides were closing their ticket booths and turning off their lights. As each ride was turning off its light, Jamie and Sophie were left in an increasingly intimidating darkness. It got to the point where they couldn't see more than a foot or two in front of them and jumped every time the door of a ticket booth slammed shut. Oh if only they had grabbed their torches before leaving home! Maybe they would have been able to see where to go.  
"Any hints from your guides?" Jamie whispered to his sister. It was hard to make out her outline despite the fact she was right next to him. Not even her bright blond hair cold give out enough of a glow in the darkness and usually it did.  
"They're not here." Sophie fearfully whispered back. "The parade scared them off."  
"Then bring them back."

"I don't control them!" She snapped. "I didn't even know I could see them til we got here!" She then took several deep breaths. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to get mad... I'm scared, Jamie. This place looks like the circus ground but I don't think it's this big." She lowered her head and whimpered a little and Jamie wrapped his arms around her.  
"It's okay, Soph, I'll keep you safe, I promise." He said softly to calm her down and reassure her.  
"How? We can't see a thing and we don't even know where we are."

She was right. Though they followed the parade back to, what they thought was the circus ground, there were no lights on the now silent rides. Even the floating lights of the parade had disappeared into thin air. There was nothing to show them the way or even where they were. Jamie could see his sister's point; how could he protect her when he couldn't see anything? But he was aware that his hearing seemed to have gotten better. His ears picked up the rustle of leaves and grass and the slight squeak of Sophie's trainers as they walked through the dewy grounds. He thought he heard a whisper in the wind but he put that down to his imagination. For several minutes, the siblings stood in complete darkness, hardly daring to move or even breathe when Jamie almost cheered as he spotted salvation.  
"Sophie, look!" He cried and pointed straight ahead where, mercifully, the tiniest pinprick of light floated in the encompassing darkness. "We should head there!"  
Sophie wasn't pleased as Jamie thought she would be, instead, she shrank away from it. "I don't like this." She whispered. "It's like the circus wants us to go there."  
"It's not alive, Sophie."  
"Then why have we ended up seeing something terrifying or getting lost every time we head to light that appears from no where?!" She snapped back. "The circus is making this happen, I know it."  
"How?"  
"...I don't know... I can just tell..."  
Jamie was silent for a few moments before he softly spoke his thoughts. "What choice do we have?" He asked and grasped Sophie's hand to lead the way.

The source of the light turned out to be a sign for a single ride that had been left alight. Or maybe it had just been turned on. Who could say in this place? Both Jamie and Sophie gulped at the soft neon lights that spelled out the name of the ride; The Hall of Mirrors. As they stepped slowly inside, they wondered what trouble would be caused here.

Chapter 8 – Hall of Mirrors

Sophie hated the Hall of Mirrors the moment she stepped inside. While Jamie was casually and happily admiring himself in the different shaped mirrors, Sophie was clinging to his arm as though it were a life line. She didn't see her reflection, she saw faces. Horrible faces, ugly faces, faces that laughed and leered at her as she passed. Jamie would just stand in front of mirror after mirror, marvelling and laughing at how they made him look tall then short then fat then thin and even contorting his reflection into all sorts of weird and wonderful shapes. Sophie couldn't enjoy the cleverly built mirrors as many faces in all sorts of weird colours; red, black, dark green, bright blue, feathered, scaled, horned, all leered out at her and laughed and her fear. Every face was different as was each set of laughter. Some would have a high pitched and fast paced giggle while others had a slow deep boom of a laugh. All she could do was cling to her brother's arm and hope that the faces didn't have bodies attached to them.

"Look, Sophie! Don't you want to see how your reflection changes?" Jamie asked excitedly, trying to lighten the mood. He'd seen how is dear sister was flinching and squeaking in fear as they passed the mirrors lining the walls of the attraction. He couldn't understand why she was so scared, she loved trick mirrors like these as much as he did. Though, he had to admit, he could hear the circus music playing again in the background as they wandered and it didn't exactly sound cheerful. The slightly off tunes were sending shivers down his spine. Still, that was no reason for Sophie to be flinching at every mirror. "Sophie." He slowly asked, remembering that all night, she had been seeing things that he couldn't. "What do you see?"  
"F-faces." She whispered back, watching a particularly nasty looking one in the mirror just in front of them. It had short horns that looked a little like the ice pops they made in the summer out of fruit juice. The eyes were pure gold and flashed with danger and malicious intent. Scales coated the surface of the evil looking face and the teeth that were shown in the dastardly smile were pointed and gnashing at Sophie. "Evil faces. T-they're laughing at us."  
"Why?"  
"I-I don't know... t-they're just laughing at us. I don't want to look at them, any more, Jamie, don't make me look!" She cried and hid her face in his jacket,shoulders gently shaking. Jamie took his sister's words to heart and sped through the hallways, away from the faces he couldn't see and the laughter he couldn't hear.


	10. Spellbound

_**Play - Spellbound (Track), Carnival of Lost Souls (Album)**_

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Chapter 9 – Spellbound

When Jamie and Sophie finally came to a stop, they were deep within the Hall of Mirrors. It was strange how the Hall didn't seem to end and instead twisted and turned and sometimes even had forked paths. Jamie couldn't figure out how the Hall, which had appeared tiny on the outside, could have so many paths inside. Still, nothing seemed normal on this circus ground; he'd abandoned his logic by this point. This section of path was still and silent which worried him. From the experience so far, nothing good came from sudden silence.  
"What's that?" Sophie asked, pointing to an object in the middle of the floor. Jamie approached and had a look.  
"It's an music player. Like the one Grandma had lying around and never used." He replied after examining it for a few moments. He knelt down to figure out how to turn it on but he needn't have worried; the needle moved the moment his fingers brushed it. There was a little static before a quiet tune reached their ears.  
"_The witching hour's drawing near.  
And my tragic fate is clear.  
I'll take your secret to my grave,  
Forever more I'll be your slave  
Because I'm Spellbound."_

The tune ended without warning and Jamie and Sophie were left in darkness once more.


	11. Cries in the Night

_**Play - Cries in the Night (Track), Carnival of Lost Souls (Album)**_

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Chapter 10 – Cries in the night

The moment the tune ended, Sophie sat bolt up right, staring ahead.  
"What is it?" Jamie asked but she didn't hear. Instead, she kept staring and soon, her bright blue eyes began to water. "What is it?!" Jamie asked again,more earnestly this time.  
"V-voices." Sophie replied through her tears. "N-no words just... crying. T-they're scared, Jamie, they're so scared. They all lost children here. The monsters here took over and stopped them from ever finding their kids. And if their kids saw them, they didn't recognise their own Moms and Dads." The tears streamed down her face as the sorrow of the nearby spirits overwhelmed her young mind.  
Jamie sat there, stunned at his sister's words. He wished there was more he could do but, right now, all he could offer was comfort. He pulled Sophie close and held her as the emotions of the deceased coursed through her tiny frame. There was going to be a wet patch on his jacket but he didn't care. He had to help his sister through this.


	12. Soul Stealer

Chapter 11 – Soul Stealer

As Jamie and Sophie sat there in the darkness, they both heard a slight hiss coming from somewhere around them. They huddled closer to the soft light that surrounded the old record player, still clinging to each other as Sophie dried her eyes and they glanced around, trying to see what was coming at them. Then a growl could be heard and both of them whipped round to see bright yellow eyes that seemed to be a mix of feline and serpentine with the sharp pupil and the luminous iris. Then the thing got closer and the siblings could make out a sleek scaly body as well as wings made of some kind of leathery membrane. Huge canine teeth, dark yellow and deadly sharp, peeked out from a drooling jaw on either side of a lupine like snout. Jamie and Sophie scrambled to stand so they could back away from the gigantic creature slowly stalking towards them.  
"Sophie… I think that's the demon from Grandma's stories." Jamie whispered down to his sister. He wasn't sure if it was her shaking in his grip or him shaking around her.  
"I-I think so…" Sophie whispered back, starting to step back and she felt Jamie copy her.  
They moved a little too fast and the demon started to speed up.  
"SOUL STEALER!" Both siblings screamed fearfully at the top of their lungs and tore down one of the halls.

They didn't dare look back at the monster that was following them, they just ran. It was impossible to keep track where they were going as they were still in the Hall of Mirrors. Everywhere looked the same and it was impossible to tell the difference between a doorway and a mirror. Left fork, right fork, middle fork, left path, left path, second from right, straight down the middle; they had to make their choices as randomly as possible so that the Soul Stealer wouldn't guess where they were going. One swipe of those ebony claws and their souls would be trapped here in the circus forever. Despite this, the demon was there on their heels, growling and snarling as they ran to escape his clutches. They could feel his horrible breath on the backs of their necks. It smelled like rotting flesh and stale air.

There was one terrifying moment where Sophie's feet got tangled beneath her and she fell.  
"Sophie!" Jamie yelled and turned back to help her up. "Come on, Sophie, we've gotta get out of here. For Grandma's sake!"  
His urgency helped Sophie to get to her feet and she took off like a shot once more. They held hands as tightly as their muscles would allow so they didn't get separated in this confusing hall. More confusing turnings in this Mirror Hall; middle fork, left path, second fork from the right, straight ahead, right fork, right fork, left fork, middle fork and then, mercifully-  
"LIGHT!" Jamie called to his sister over the deafening sound of the Soul Stealer's taloned feet. "I see light! We're almost there!" Both siblings put on a final burst of speed and they tumbled down metallic steps and face planted into fresh damp grass. They'd done it.


End file.
